page_title: Robert Leahy Fair
section_title: Cold War
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Leahy Fair / Career / Cold War
caption_attribution_description: English: Government file photograph of LTG Robert Leahy Fair during his time as US Army 5th Corps commanding general. Exact date of photograph unknown taken in 1976.
context_page_description: Robert Leahy Fair was a United States Army lieutenant general and a field commander in Germany during the Cold War. Fair commanded V Corps from August 25, 1975, until January 4, 1976. After 32 years in the U.S. Army and service in three wars, Fair concluded his career in 1976, and died in 1983.
  Fair received a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Maryland in 1961, and a Master of Arts from George Washington University in 1963. He also attended the University of Michigan, where he studied the Japanese language in preparation for an assignment on General MacArthur's Staff.
  "Fair's approach won plaudits. Novelist Josiah Bunting, an ex-major himself, praised Fair's leathery style in a Playboy article last fall, describing the general as ‘an admirable soldier’ who is ‘always in bristling motion.’ But other officers, whose palms sweat when Fair raked them over with abrasive questions, disliked him intensely. To some enlisted men, Fair was a bush-league General Patton." One member of the Lancer Brigade said, "The colonel is a doer. When he decides something, that means we're gonna have some action."
context_section_description: Fair was assigned to the Management Information Systems Directorate, Office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff from September 1969 to April 1970.  He later became Director of the Management Information Systems, and was promoted to Brigadier General.
  Fair commanded the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood from July 16, 1973, to August 5, 1975. He worked diligently for operations-intelligence integration as the 2nd Armored Division prepared for its return of forces to Germany (Exercise Reforger) mission, and their annual Reforger exercise supporting the Army’s operational plans.  During the Cold War, the 2nd Armored Division's primary mission was to prepare to conduct heavy armored combat against Warsaw Pact forces in defense of NATO. Hell On Wheels formed a key component of the U.S. military's plan to move "ten divisions in ten days" to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO. The division practiced this task numerous times during Exercise REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) from 1967 to 1988.
  Josiah Bunting noted in his 1975 article on the Volunteer Army: "In fiscal 1974, Fair's division reenlistment goal was 813: 1222 took their burst of six.  In July 1973, before Fair got to the division, the A.W.O.L. rate was 44 per 1000; a year later, it was 14 per 1000.  From January to June 1974, 1194 troopers raised their G.T. scores, and of all the soldiers who re-upped when Fair was in command, 72 percent re-enlisted for his division."  Bunting commented that Fair would be "a tough act to follow."
  On August 25, 1975, Lieutenant General Fair assumed command of V Corps at Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany from Lieutenant General William R. Desobry. He was responsible for the training and readiness of V Corps, headquartered at Abrams Barracks, which included the 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized) "Pathfinder," the 3rd Armored Division "Spearhead," and the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment "Blackhorse." Major General John R.D. Cleland, Jr. commanded the "Pathfinder" Division, which was headquartered at Rose Barracks, Bad Kreuznach. Major General (later Lieutenant General) Charles J. Simmons commanded the "Spearhead" Division headquartered at Frankfurt. Colonel (later Lieutenant General) John L. Ballantyne III commanded the "Blackhorse" Regiment headquartered at Fulda.
  While he was reportedly the only modern day corps commander to be relieved of duty during peacetime,
  a Time magazine article noted, "Lieut. General Robert L. Fair is headed for a more prosaic destination, however, and defenders of a tough, no nonsense, old-style Army are dismayed. As of next week Fair, 52, will retire for 'personal reasons' – the most important being that he and his commanding officer hated each other's guts." General George S. Blanchard served as the USAREUR Commander from 1975-1979.  In fact there is no evidence that either general did not respect the other. Truth of the matter, Gen Fair was most concerned about troop readiness and Gen Blanchard was concerned about his obligations to Congress. Both Generals were dedicated to service to the US Army. Gen Blanchard sent Gen Fair a back channel message advising him to return monies he had transferred from construction to training back to construction. Gen Fair did not do so. These funds were regulated by US Congress. Lieutenant General (later General) Donn A. Starry assumed command of V Corps on February 16, 1976.
caption: Fair in Class B uniform
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